Dead Zone (part 2)
by Kate3
Summary: John and Aeryn travel down to a disease-ridden planet and find a few survivors who have a secret.


Title: DEAD ZONE   
  
Author: Kate   
  
Rating: PG-13  
  
Setting: Some time after The Maltese Crichton.  
  
Spoilers: Jeremiah Crichton, The Flax, A Human Reaction, Out Of Their Minds and the Look At The Princess arc. And probably a lot more that I'm not remembering.   
  
Archiving: Yes, but please tell one of us where it is.  
  
Feedback: Yes, please! Send comments to AirnSun18@AOL.com   
Disclaimer: None of the characters or objects pertaining to Farscape, the Jim Henson co., Nine Networks and the Sci-Fi Channel belong to us, we're just borrowing them :)  
  
Note: Thanks go out to Amara for all of her help, and to Riley for some of the names, more help and his crazy sense of humor. Solid, man. Visit my website @ http://coolfarscape.homestead.com/coolfarscape.html  
  
**************  
Part 2:  
  
"Ahhhh! Stay away from me!" Rygel yelled. "I will not have diseased yotzes on my ship. Go back where you came from," he said, backing away from them on his throne sled.   
"Relax Sparky, we're clean," John said, rolling his eyes. He watched as Zhaan entered and Rygel retreated behind her, his head peering out from behind her leg cautiously.  
"John, Aeryn, thank the Goddess you're back." Zhaan smiled, but then turned serious. "How are you feeling?"  
"I'm fine." John said, looking at Aeryn. "The PeaceKeepers were the ones who introduced the plague to Chanterak. Aeryn was already vaccinated as a soldier." They looked up as D'Argo entered the room with Chiana, both of them carrying large crates of food. D'Argo set his down gently, while Chiana dropped hers with a thud.  
"This is all we can afford to give them, John. We are also running low on food," D'Argo told them.   
"Okay. Are you coming Aeryn?" Aeryn nodded and helped John lift the crates into a transport.   
Soon Aeryn and John were on their way down to Chanterak with the food and a few extra masks. Aeryn expertly landed the transport and stepped out of it, followed by John. She tightened her long, leather coat around her when she realized how cold it had gotten.   
"I don't know how long this food will last them," Aeryn said gesturing to the crates at her side. John looked ahead towards the shelter, which they were once again approaching. They came to the entrance and knocked on the bulkhead door.  
"Room service!" He called. Aeryn rolled her eyes. Ra'Taal emerged and greeted Aeryn and John with delight.   
"Thank you so much. Our people are forever indebted to you," He said bowing before John and Aeryn.  
"No sweat Ra'Taal," John replied carrying the food crates into the shelter. "We also brought you some extra gas masks in case-" John stopped abruptly in mid sentence. "Aeryn what happened to the masks?" He asked.  
"Crichton, you're not wearing a mask either," She said urgently.  
"Oh shit!" John exclaimed feeling his face where the mask was supposed to be. "I have to go back and get one," He said heading out of the shelter.   
"Crichton wait I'm coming with you," she said stepping out the bulkhead door.  
"No you stay here. I'll be right back," He replied. Aeryn nodded and watched him go into darkness. She couldn't help but feel worried for Crichton. She chided herself for thinking like this; she knew he could take care of himself. Most of the time, she thought to herself with a small smile.  
  
John headed back to the transport quickly. All he wanted was to be off Chanterak and on Moya again. With Aeryn, he thought. He hoped that everything would be all right between them. Fighting with Aeryn always left some mighty big headaches. John spotted the masks a few feet from where they had left. He sighed and picked them up, choosing one for his own. John gasped as a sharp pain moved through his chest and he began to cough hard. He groaned, as the force of his coughing seemed to rattle his lungs. As he coughed and wheezed, he felt dizzy from the lack of air. John fell to the ground and struggled to breathe.  
"Aeryn!" John called out to her, but he didn't know if she would be able to hear him.   
"Aeryn. Help me." John fought for air as blackness closed around him.   
  
Aeryn's head jerked up as she heard calls. She glared at the group around her, who were laughing and having their first tastes of their new food. Sera sat in the corner, a worried look on her face. Apparently, she had heard it too.  
"Shut up!" She hissed at them. They immediately went silent and watched as she listened. Aeryn climbed up the steps of the bulkhead and stood on the top step, her eyes scanning the area. Then she heard John calling her name out. She took off without a word to the others. Aeryn reached John's still form and shook him gently.  
"John, can you hear me? It's Aeryn," she said, but he did not respond. Her hands were shaking as she placed her fingers on his neck. She let out a relieved sigh when she felt a pulse. Picking up a mask from where he lay she put it on him. Aeryn knew that she had to bring him back to the shelter, so she put her arms around him and tugged on his body. She strained with effort as she brought him up against her. Grunting, she crouched and let him fall over her shoulder and stood, her shoulders aching under his weight.  
Aeryn made it back to the bulkhead and set John down on the ground as gently as she could. She banged on the bulkhead and Sera opened it a little, her yellow eyes peering out at Aeryn and John.  
"He's got the plague now, has he?" She said in her high-pitched, raspy voice. "He's not welcome no more." She slammed the bulkhead Aeryn banged on it with her fist once again.  
"Open the frelling door! If you don't open this door, I swear, I'll frelling blast it open myself and..." Aeryn's rampage trailed off as Ra'Taal opened the doors and helped her drag John in. Sera glared at them.  
"We all die now!" She spat. Ra'Taal looked at her sternly.  
"Sera, the plague is not contagious. You cannot get it from him. Do you understand?" Sera nodded, but still glared at Aeryn as she retreated into a dark corner of the bulkhead.  
"I apologize. Sera is old and sometimes she gets confused. She¾. ""Let's just focus on Crichton right now. Help me set him down." Ra'Taal and Aeryn placed John in the corner, away from the others. He groaned as Aeryn was gently placing his head on the ground."John? John, come on, stay with us. Can you hear me?" John slowly nodded and asked her for some water, his voice hoarse. Aeryn reached into one of the crates and pulled out a canteen. He reached for it hungrily and gulped it down, relishing the feel of the cool water sliding down his irritated throat. He handed the canteen back to Aeryn and let his head fall to the ground, sighing. Closing his eyes, he tried to ignore the white-hot pain in his chest. He slowly opened his eyes to find Aeryn hovering over him, a worried expression on her face. She looked as if she wanted to say something, but she quickly closed her mouth instead.  
"Aeryn, I'm fine," he told her.   
"Crichton, what happened?" She asked, a hint of disbelief in her voice.  
"I don't know. I was just going back to get the masks and... I don't know, maybe I just got something stuck in my throat." Aeryn raised her eyebrows and turned suddenly at the sound of cackling. Sera sat in the corner, her head thrown back as she laughed.  
"Why do you deny it, boy? You got the plague. I can smell it on you, I can." Her yellow eyes flashed for a second, sending shivers up Aeryn's spine. Aeryn glared at her.  
"What the frell are you talking about?" She said slowly between clenched teeth. John winced at the anger in her voice. Another man spoke up.  
"Sera, she's got the eye, you know," he said calmly. Aeryn shook her head, not understanding. The man grinned.   
"She's a seer. She sees things before they happen, you know." Aeryn rolled her eyes. She heard John mumble something about a 'psychic friends network and Ms. Cleo'. Aeryn quickly glanced at Sera from the corner of her eyes. She was sitting in the same corner, her eyes closed. It was like she was listening to something that no one else could hear. Aeryn looked up as Ra'Taal approached her, looking slightly embarrassed.  
"Don't pay any attention to what they say. Sera is of the Tey Generation. They are very superstitious and " Ra'Taal was cut off by Sera when she hissed at him."It's not superstition, you fool." Her glare was potent enough to send Ra'Taal back to another part of the shelter, to converse with the friendlier survivors.Aeryn turned her attention back to John, who was moving restlessly. His breath was coming out in short, quick gasps. He groaned and his muscles went stiff and Aeryn was worried that he had become paralyzed. She relaxed when he let out the breath he had been holding.  
"John, what's the matter? Tell me what's happening." He looked up at her, his blue eyes water from the pain.  
"I hurt like Hell," was all he could force out of his aching throat. Aeryn went to him, gently lifting his head and placing it in her lap. She began to run her fingers through his hair and watched him close his eyes.  
"When I was a PeaceKeeper, during one of my training sessions I broke my arm. I was only fifteen cycles old and it hurt very badly, but stopping was not an option. My instructor told me not to focus on the pain, to think of something else." John watched her now, and he saw her smile.  
"By the time we finished the routine, I was so incredibly immersed in finishing that I had nearly forgotten that my arm was broken. On top of that, I scored the highest in my class." Her fingers stopped moving as she reflected.  
"No. Keep doing that. You're a good distraction, Aeryn. A welcome distraction," he said quietly. He closed his eyes again. Aeryn felt herself blushing at his comment and was glad he couldn't see her, but continued running her fingers through his hair.   
John smiled and focused his thoughts on Aeryn. He focused on the memories of being trapped in the Flax with her, their night on the false Earth, the sight of her standing in the doorway of his cell on the Gammack Base, saving his ass once again. He focused on the time they spent in Pilot's chamber when she had willingly allowed him to hold her and touch her hair, the short but wonderful kiss in his module and the sweet taste of their last kiss. He smiled. They were compatible. He had always assumed that they were, but the stone-cold proof of it was so much more enjoyable.   
Aeryn could feel John's eyes on her. She looked down at him and he smiled. Aeryn returned his smile, partly out of relief. He seemed to be doing better. Leaning her head back against the wall, she contemplated what they were going to do. All she knew was that she did not want to be on Chanterak. As if he were reading her mind, John spoke up.  
"I think we should get back to Moya. The others are probably beginning to wonder by now." To back up his words Aeryn heard the crackle of her comm button as it came to life. Chiana's voice came over the unit.  
"John...Aeryn? Hey, are you guys ever coming back up?" She asked impatiently.  
"Yes, Chiana," Aeryn said, slightly annoyed.  
"Sorry. Whatcha guys been doing down there anyway? Hope I'm not interrupting anything special?" She said giggling. Aeryn rolled her eyes, but had to smile when she heard Zhaan and D'Argo chiding her in the background.  
"Chiana, Crichton's sick, but he's doing better now. We're on our way."  
"John's sick? Are you sure he's okay?" She asked, worry creeping into her voice.   
"I'm fine Chi," John answered. "Just have a nice hot bowl of chicken soup ready for me."  
"What the frell is chicken." Aeryn switched off her comm, cutting Chiana off."Let's just go." Aeryn rose to her feet and took John's outstretched hand to help him up. As he got to his feet, he suddenly doubled over in pain, crying out. Aeryn tried to steady him, but he fell to the ground, taking her with him. He lay on the ground breathing heavily. Aeryn kneeled next to him.  
"What's going on? I thought you said you were fine."  
"I lied," John said between gasps. "I just wanted to get out of here and back to Moya." Aeryn immediately switched on her comm again.  
"Zhaan? Zhaan, are you there?"  
"Yes, Aeryn, I'm here. What do you need?" Zhaan's calm voice sounded.  
"Zhaan, we need you down here, now. John's sick, he's not better. They think he's got the plague that's down here, he forgot to wear his mask and.""Aeryn, what's his condition?" Aeryn swallowed as she asked John. He groaned as he began to speak. "Uh, let's see... My lungs feel like they're going implode, breathing has been somewhat difficult and I've got this weird tingling feeling all over my body. All in all, I'm feeling pretty shitty," he said sarcastically.  
"All right. I can bring down some K'rinel potion. It might heal you or at least soothe your pain until we can find something that works. I'll be down as soon as I mix it. Goddess be with you." Aeryn sighed and leaned back against the wall, cradling John's head in her lap once again. They sat in a long, awkward silence until Sera spoke up.  
"Nothing's going to save you, boy. You die today." She began to laugh deliriously. "You die like the rest of us did. What makes you think y' are any different?" Aeryn closed her eyes and ignored Sera's words.  
"You're not going to die," she told him. She opened her eyes and looked down at him. He was looking up at her with an odd expression that she could not read. He began to cough hard. Once the spasms subsided he placed his hand over the hand Aeryn was resting on his chest.  
"Aeryn... She may be right. I'm not feeling to good right now," his voice dropped down to a hoarse whisper as if to prove his point. He could feel his throat tightening. "After Scorpius and the Aurora Chair, I made a recording for everyone in case I ever." "Crichton, I don't want to hear it. You're being ridiculous. You are not going to die," she said angrily, avoiding his eyes.  
"Aeryn, I want¾.""John¾.""Aeryn, listen to me!" Aeryn shut her mouth quickly and tried to prepare herself for whatever she was about to hear. She kept her face passive and collected herself.  
"Aeryn, I'm sorry, but I might not live. As I told D'Argo once before, hope is what keeps me going and I haven't lost that yet. But, there are some things that you and everyone else need to know. Scorpi and the Aurora Chair was a big wake-up call for me. So, I got to thinking that I should leave something to all of you, just in case. I left messages for all of you on¾." John began to cough again and he had to fight for air. Aeryn felt her eyes well with tears. She swallowed hard, trying to push down the rising lump in her throat.  
"I left messages for all of you on my recorder," he continued. "Aeryn, yours is the last message on there, I¾." John trailed off and struggled between breaths. Aeryn shushed him and he closed his eyes. She looked around the shelter and felt sick to her stomach. No one was doing anything. No one was even showing concern! She felt a flash of anger as she watched them scarf down the food they had brought them.  
"Who the FRELL do you all think you are? We bring you food so you can survive and you all just sit there like yotzes while he dies? You have my word that I will never, ever¾."  
"Us, help you? We are the ones left of a population that your kind destroyed!" Ra'Taal retorted. Aeryn was taken aback by his unusual harshness.  
"Do you think that if we knew how to help him that our race would be dead? it's useless. He will die like the rest of them!"   
"Calm yourself Ra'Taal," Sera said from the corner. She watched as the man took the woman's hand and began to stroked it as she began to cry. She watched as the man took the woman's hand and began to stroked it as she began to cry. Sera had judged her wrong. No PeaceKeeper would show compassion for their dying comrades. She felt guilty for the lies she had told her. He wasn't going to die. She had known it from beginning. He would be sick for quite some time, but he would survive, and continue to survive for cycles to come.  
Sera rose from the corner in which she had been sitting in and started to approach the woman. Once she reached her she kneeled in front of her.  
"What do you want?" Aeryn asked bitterly. Sera reached out to brush the tears from Aeryn's cheeks, but Aeryn pulled away. Sera pursed her lips.  
"Are you prepared for what's to come?" Aeryn stared at Sera, her eyebrows raised in confusion.  
"Let me show you," Sera half-asked, half-ordered. Aeryn flinched as she felt her hands on her temples. She watched Sera close her eyes. Suddenly, Aeryn felt some kind of force slam into her. Her head flew back and she cried out as everything went black until a bright hazy light took over. A bright light flashed somewhere and she saw herself and Crichton running down Moya's corridors, weapons drawn. Images flashed through her mind in strange spasms of energy. She saw Moya, Talyn and Crais. Then she recognized Stark, the Bantic slave from the Gammack base. She watched as images of shoot-outs and strange creatures played before her eyes. Everything started to slow as she herself and John in bed together.  
Aeryn smiled and realized that Sera was somehow showing her the future. More images of the crew, enemies and her and John flashed quickly and everything went black again. She slowly opened her eyes, not realizing they had been closed and looked around. Everyone was gathered around her, murmuring excitedly. John was yelling, or attempting to yell at Sera, frantically asking her what she was doing. Aeryn slowly exhaled and looked at Sera.  
"Thank you," she said quietly. Sera nodded and looked down at Crichton, who looked terribly confused.  
"Don't let go of your hope," she told him. She quietly rose to her feet and went back to her dark little corner. The survivors slowly made their way over to her and one by one, began to apologize for not believing her.  
Aeryn sat in silence for a while, thinking about what was to come. She had seen good things and she had seen awful things. It wasn't enough to prevent anything, but then again, she didn't want some of it to be prevented. She looked down at John, who still looked exhausted and confused.  
"Let's get out of here," she said, rising. She grasped John's hand and pulled him up with her. He looked as if he were going to vomit, but grimaced and leaned heavily on her for support.  
"Aeryn, what about them?" He gestured to the survivors.  
"The disease is weakening, which is why you are not going to die. Ra'Taal said that they will be able to leave the shelter with masks on, and eventually, won't need them any more. They have an old module and will leave when it is safe to do so," she explained.  
Aeryn helped John up the stairs and out of the shelter. She could feel him shaking as they walked through the forest. They hadn't gone far when they both spotted Zhaan heading towards them.  
"Thank the Goddess you're all right John. I'm sorry I couldn't get here sooner, I couldn't find you." She went to John's free side and helped Aeryn support him. As they walked back to the transport pods, Aeryn looked back towards the shelter. Sera was standing outside, watching them leave. Her expression was unreadable due to the mask, but Aeryn sensed her feeling. Sadness. Aeryn felt a pang of regret for having to leave her behind, but they couldn't bring her back to Moya. Her people needed her. Aeryn was tempted to go back and ask to see more of her future, but she couldn't bring herself to do it, it seemed greedy. She turned away.  
  
****************  
  
Aeryn sat on the Terrace, her chin resting on her drawn up knees when John entered.  
"You're supposed to be resting," she said, not moving. .  
"Yeah, I did that for a while, but the suspense was killing me," He said, gingerly easing himself down next to her. Aeryn looked down at her hands and began to speak softly.  
"She showed me everything John. My future." John looked up sharply.  
"How?"  
"I don't know. I can't explain it," she said, a small smile spreading on her face.  
"What did you see?" Aeryn felt herself blushing at his question and turned away for a moment.  
"I um... I saw Talyn. And Crais," she told him.  
"Crais, huh? Was I strangling him?" John grinned.  
"No. I didn't get to see a lot actually, just quick, um, flashes."  
"Oh." John nodded slowly and a long, awkward silence passed between them.  
"Was I in it? Your future, I mean." He looked at Aeryn expectantly. She was smiling and she nodded, not wanting to say anything. John went to her and pulled her into his arms. She rested her head on his shoulder and sank against him. She sighed as he watched the stars and she contemplated her destiny.  
  
  
The End! :)  
  
  
  
  



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